


Explanations, Not Excuses

by ShadeofGreen



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-21 01:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12445972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeofGreen/pseuds/ShadeofGreen
Summary: He honestly doesn’t remember much. What he remembered clearly is finding the gem and getting attack by some monstrous lion. They fought, and, while parts of his memory were fuzzy, he was certain that the gem saved him. Not long after that, he blacked out.When he wakes up next, he finds himself in a white clean room that smells of alcohol and medicine.(Or, James Navarro's reason for not being in his son's life is much more different than it could ever be.)





	Explanations, Not Excuses

**Author's Note:**

> I figure it's time to publish this baby after it been sitting in a word doc. I definitely remember when I wrote this: in August, after finishing watching the Neo-Saban era Power Rangers. Dino Charge was the best of the three shows, but boy did Dino Charge unintentionally made James a dead beat dad (and I'm sure that wasn't their intention). I decided to take matter in my own hands and did a canon rewrite. Needless to say, it's a mix result. I'll explain why at the note at the end.
> 
> Please excuse any spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, ooc-ness (I only watched the show once), and canon mistaken facts (again, I only watched the show once).

He honestly doesn’t remember much. What he remembered clearly is finding the gem and getting attack by some monstrous lion. They fought, and, while parts of his memory were fuzzy, he was certain that the gem saved him. Not long after that, he blacked out.

When he wakes up, he finds himself in a white clean room that smells of alcohol and medicine. His regular clothes were gone (the gem he found was still tightly clutch in his hand though), and clearly saw he was in a hospital gown. Two people were talking among each other, one being a nurse in a scrubs uniform and doctor in a white coat.

He faked a cough to get their attention. It works.

The doctor and nurse stiffen their backs when they heard him. Quickly as they panicked, the two gave him a charming smile. It was easy with one glance to see that it was fake, as if they were hiding something from him.

“Good morning. It’s nice to see you finally awake,” greeted the doctor.

“Good morning.”

“I was beginning to think that he was never going to wake up,” said the nurse, getting a stern glare from the doctor.

Never going to wake up? “Was I in coma?”

The doctor gave him another smile, this time that was full of warmth and sadness. “Yes. I’m afraid so. You have been in coma for quite a while in fact.”

His boy was alone without his father. How long was he alone? It couldn’t be more than a few months, a year at best. Either way, he had to make up for it as soon as possible. It didn’t matter if he was in coma. He was supposed to come back. He broke his promise to his son.

“I need to get to my son.” He quickly removes the thin excuse of a blanket. Before his feet was able to touch the ground, the nurse and doctor pushed back onto the bed.

“Slow down! We can’t just release you!” The nurse gave him a stern look.

“And why not?”

“We have to run from tests first! After all, your condition isn’t something we see every day.”

Condition? “Not to sound rude, but I feel perfectly fine and healthy. I know you’re both doing your jobs, but I really need to get to my son-”

“But that’s just it,” interrupted the doctor. “You have been perfectly fine and healthy with no problems, but not once did you age during the ten years you been here!”

“Ten years?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I’m afraid that’s correct, sir. You’re a John Doe in our hospital for the last ten years. Not once did no came to visit you. I’m sorry to say this, but your son may believe you to be dead. You can leave once we finished running some tests on you.”

While James Navarro agreed to the tests, the man honestly believed he would be pushing up daisies before getting out of the hospital. The news was too much to bear.

* * *

Being in coma isn’t an excuse for missing a majority of your son’s life. Trying to catch up on the ten years you been missing isn’t an excuse for not starting your search earlier. Being a Power Ranger and trying to fight for your life and the world isn’t an excuse for not trying hard enough to figure out where your son is. They all may be explanations, but they will never be excuses.

From what James gathered, his parents took care of Tyler after his disappearance, and moved to a different if close by city. As much as he wanted to visit them, bearing gifts and say ‘Hello Mom and Dad. I survived the cave in you thought that most likely killed me and was in coma ever since’ (and no, he wasn’t going to say those exact words because then he would have killed them right on the spot), he needed to apologize to his son first.

It’s a good thing for having friends that stay loyal even after death. James was certain Rusty thought he was the Ghost of Christmas Past and nearly threw a shovel at his head before Rusty calmed down. Once everything was explain, Rusty gave him the first hug in years.

Turns out that Rusty saw his son once. “He takes after you,” said Rusty, giving him a warm pat on the shoulder.

When James asked Rusty if Tyler thought he was dead, Rusty chuckled.

“Tyler has been looking for you for quite awhile now.”

Hearing those words gave James just enough strength to continue on his almost fruitless search. With the craziness going on in Amber Beach, he has the idea that his son was involve in it somehow. His hunches didn’t pay off until the Red Ranger suddenly went feral.

He should have realized it on that day in the park though. There was a reason that the teenager took noticed of him for a reason (and honestly, the only reason he was watching them is that there was no way a normal person can have that much bad luck).

Well, it’s better to realized it late than never at all. “I’m not going to hurt you. I know you’re not an animal, Tyler. I’m sorry for the last ten years though. Nothing I say won’t excuse the time we both lost, but believe me when I say I will try my hardest to make up for them.”

James then gets to say the words he wanted to say for so long.

“It’s me. I’m your dad.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's obvious that James couldn't be a John Doe for the last ten years without no one finding him. After trying to figure out reasoning behind it/rewrites explaining it in-fic with bad results, I figure everyone but Tyler thought he was dead, so nobody decided to check hospitals.


End file.
